President Barack Obama hugs Victoria Bellucci, a 2014 graduate of Huntingtown High School in Huntingtown, Md., after she introduced Obama to speak at the White House Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Bellucci played four years of women’s varsity soccer where she was a team captain and an All-State selection. By the time her high school and club soccer careers ended in 2013, Bellucci had suffered five concussions. President Obama was hosting the summit with representatives of professional sports leagues, coaches, parents, young athletes, researchers and others to call attention to the issue of youth sports concussions.

CBS: President Obama Calls For More Robust Research Into Youth Concussions

The commander-in-chief wants to know more. President Barack Obama called Thursday for more robust research into youth concussions, saying there remains deep uncertainty over both the scope of the troubling issue and the long-term impacts on young people. “We want our kids participating in sports,” Obama said as he opened a day-long summit on concussions at the White House. “As parents though, we want to keep them safe and that means we have to have better information.” The summit signaled an effort by Obama to use the power of the presidency to elevate a national conversation over youth concussions. The White House brought together representatives of professionalsports leagues, coaches, parents, young athletes, medical professionals and others for the event.

"Sports teach us about teamwork and hard work and what it takes to succeed not only on the field, but in life." —Obama #HeadsUp4Safety

Obama, an avid sports fan and father of two daughters involved in athletics, highlighted millions of dollars in pledges and other support from the National Football League, the National Institutes of Health and others to conduct research that could begin to provide answers and improve safety. Among the financial commitments is a $30 million joint research effort by the NCAA and Defense Department and an NFL commitment of $25 million over the next three years to promote youth sports safety. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that can be caused by a blow to the head, or a blow to the body powerful enough to jostle the brain around inside the skull. Nearly 250,000 kids and young adults visit hospital emergency rooms each year with brain injuries caused by sports or other recreational activity, the White House said.

President Obama told a White House meeting of athletes, coaches and medical experts Thursday that there are no “solid numbers” on the extent of the concussion problem in football and other contact sports. “We’ve got to have better research, better data, better safety equipment, better protocols,” Obama said at the first White House Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit. While “sports are vital to this country,”

"That’s what today’s about—let’s give parents the information they need to help their kids compete safely." —President Obama #HeadsUp4Safety

Obama said, society needs to make sure that young people “are able to participate as safely as possible.” The purpose of the summit is to look for better ways to determine the severity of head injuries that could affect the brain, and how to treat them. Moreover, adults need to discourage a “suck-it-up” culture that encourages young athletes to pay through pain, Obama said.

President Barack Obama speaks at the White House Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit. Pictured from left to right: LaVar Arrington, former NFL linebacker; Victoria Bellucci, a high school soccer player from Huntingtown, Md.; Taylor Twellman, former professional soccer player; Gen. Ray Odierno, Chief of Staff of the United States Army; R. Dawn Comstock, who runs the national high school sports injury surveillance program called High School RIO; Gerard A Gioia, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology at Children’s National Medical Center, Pam Oliver, a reporter with NFL on FOX

….. with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon ahead of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit working dinner in Seoul on March 26

… with Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard

…. with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

… with Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev after their bilateral meeting in Seoul on March 26

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President Barack Obama is briefed by Lt. Col. Yoon Bong-hee, left, as he views the DMZ from Observation Post Ouellette at Camp Bonifas, Republic of Korea, March 25, 2012. A translator assists during the briefing. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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People rally on the sidewalk as legal arguments over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act take place at the Supreme Court in Washington, March 26

Medical students show their support for President Obama’s healthcare law

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to children at the White House’s garden on March 26. The First Lady welcomed school children from across the country to join her for the fourth annual White House Kitchen Garden spring planting.

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Caroline Kennedy speaking to volunteers in a field office in Florida, March 23

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Hi everyone, just a few pics and videos for now, I’ll try and catch up properly with all the news tomorrow – I’m way behind!

First lady Michelle Obama reaches for a hand as she arrives for physical activity with kids at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida, Feb. 11

AP: Add another dance move to Michelle Obama’s repertoire. This one has to do with a certain celebrity platypus. The first lady gave “the platypus walk” a try on Saturday during a visit to Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The dance was inspired by Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” show, whose characters include Perry the Platypus. It required some flapping of flippers, or arms if you’re human, shuffling left and right and yanking limbs up and down, all to a pulsing rock beat.

Mrs. Obama did the dance at an event marking the second anniversary of her “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity.

…. with Perry the Platypus from the children’s TV show “Phineas and Ferb”

The tip off of an NCAA Men’s Basketball game between the University of North Carolina and Michigan State University on board the USS Carl Vinson at North Island Naval Station in San Diego, Calif., Nov. 11. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

ESPN: “We have decided to part ways with Hank Williams, Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of Monday Night Football has always been about the games and that will continue.”

….. Williams, perhaps best known for his “are you ready for some football?” lead-in to ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Monday compared this summer’s so-called golf summit between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner as “one of the biggest political mistakes ever.”

As Williams put it on Fox News’ Fox & Friends: “It would be like Hitler playing golf with Benjamin Netanyahu.”

When asked on Fox to explain his analogy, Williams said Obama and Vice-President Biden are “the enemy.”

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It still isn’t clear if ESPN have just dropped the creep from tonight’s show – or completely. Keep tweeting, let them know what you think😉

ESPN: March Madness is back at the White House, and President Barack Obama is picking the top seeds to advance to the Final Four. For the third straight year, Obama has filled out an NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz. He says Duke, Kansas, Ohio State and Pittsburgh will make the men’s Final Four … and predicts Baylor, UConn, Stanford and Tennessee will advance in the women’s tournament.

The president’s men’s bracket, including his choice for national champion, will be revealed on the noon (ET) “SportsCenter” on Wednesday. His selections for the women’s bracket will be unveiled Friday on the 9 a.m. (ET) “SportsCenter.”

The basketball-player-in-chief is 1-1 when it comes to college basketball’s men’s national championship. He correctly picked North Carolina to win in 2009. Last year, he went with Kansas, but Duke ended up taking home the trophy.